My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 249 Visiting Cao Cao
"Such a thing is true?"

Cao Cao looked shocked; his acting skills were indeed impeccable.

"Nephew, were you injured?"

Liu Feng cupped his hands and said, "Fortunately, I was protected by the Tiger Warriors and was unharmed."

"So good."

While expressing his concern, Cao Cao cautiously probed, "The remnants of the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou. When I first entered Yanzhou, I also quelled a million-strong rebellion. Among them were good and bad, a mixed bag, and I was repeatedly assassinated. Fortunately, most of the Yellow Turbans were also eager to settle down, otherwise I really wouldn't have been able to appease them."

Liu Feng couldn't help but chuckle to himself. "You little rascal, Widow Cao, I just mentioned it once, and you immediately brushed it all off?"

However, when it comes to acting skills, Liu Feng has never been inferior to anyone. He frowned and said, "If that's the case, then it's no wonder."

Cao Cao knew that Liu Feng's words were a trap, but he couldn't resist his curiosity and asked, "Nephew, what has happened?"

In fact, whether Cao Cao asked or not, Liu Feng had a backup plan waiting for him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have said that.

After all, this was a crucial bargaining chip in Liu Feng's hands.

Liu Feng's expression was solemn, with a visible hint of vigilance and confusion on his face. He continued, "General, you may not know this, but the two traitors who attempted to assassinate me this time are named He Kui and Zhang Mang. They claim to be well-known leaders of the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou, and they even surrendered to you when they were in Yanzhou."

"He Kui, Zhang Mang!?"

Cao Cao was greatly alarmed: "It's these two? When did they go to Yingchuan?"

Liu Feng's expression also changed drastically: "General, you actually know these two people?"

Cao Cao's surprised expression instantly turned into shame: "These two are indeed surrendered soldiers that I took in when I was in Yanzhou."

Surrendered soldiers?

He must be a trusted confidant, otherwise why would he go to Yingchuan to recruit the Yellow Turbans for you?

Liu Feng couldn't help but mutter a few complaints in his heart, but he hesitated on the surface.

Cao Cao was heartbroken, but he had to pretend to be magnanimous and serious, saying, "Nephew, please speak frankly. I think there may be some twists and turns in this matter."

What I'm waiting for is your words.

Liu Feng sneered inwardly, speaking openly and honestly, and falsely accused the two men, saying, "These two men claimed that they came to Yingchuan on the orders of the Grand General to recruit and accept the surrender of the Yellow Turbans in Yingchuan and to serve the Grand General. They also said that they assassinated my nephew because they felt that he was hindering their plans and affecting my uncle's expansion."

Liu Feng subtly pinned the blame on Cao Cao.

The latter nearly jumped up after hearing this.

When did I ever order them to assassinate you? Are He Kui and Zhang Mang just greedy for credit and acting on their own?
But soon, Cao Cao realized that Liu Feng had tens of thousands of armored soldiers under his command and had swept through Yingchuan. What qualifications did He Kui and Zhang Mang have to dare to assassinate such a commander?
How could they be so fierce?

How come I didn't notice?
This scoundrel must have framed me to pin the blame on me.

"What, is this really happening?!"

Cao Cao's expression changed drastically, and anger surged within him. He said righteously and sternly, "Nephew, you need not worry about my reputation. Deal with it as you see fit. Assassinating a high-ranking general is tantamount to treason, and he should be executed immediately!"

That's not very interesting.

"Execute him swiftly? Do I look that stupid?"
Liu Bei looked displeased and remained silent, simply sitting in his seat and looking at Cao Cao.

This put a lot of pressure on Cao Cao, because behind Liu Feng stood tens of thousands of troops from Yingchuan, as well as Liu Bei, the General of the Cavalry, who commanded 100,000 armored soldiers and traversed Xu and Yu provinces.

Liu Feng fell silent, and Cao Cao followed suit.

Liu Feng harbored deep resentment. He knew perfectly well that Cao Cao had sent He Kui and Zhang Mang to poach his men, but he couldn't bring himself to say it directly, otherwise Cao Cao would be laughing in his sleep.

Yes, I sent them. I sent them to help persuade the Yellow Turbans in Yingchuan to surrender, for the sake of the court, for the Han Dynasty, and to help you.

Isn't this a good thing?

Therefore, Liu Feng could only frame He Kui and Zhang Mang, claiming that they had ulterior motives, wanted to incite the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Yingchuan, and even wanted to assassinate him, the commander-in-chief of the imperial army's southern expedition.

Cao Cao understood this principle and knew why Liu Feng had framed him.

But that doesn't mean he's not angry.

I simply sent someone to poach him, and not only did it fail, but you immediately slapped such a huge accusation on me. If I tolerated it, who knows what outrageous demands you might have made.

Therefore, the two were at an impasse for a moment.

For a moment, the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Both men remained silent, each pondering how to break the deadlock.

Liu Feng was alright, after all, he was prepared to fight the unprepared and had anticipated this, but Cao Cao was truly caught off guard by Liu Feng.

After a full quarter of an hour of silence, Liu Feng finally spoke.

"Since the General cannot uphold justice for me, I have no choice but to petition the court and ask the Emperor to thoroughly investigate this matter."

Liu Feng used his trump card: "You widow Cao are just a general, but above you is an adult emperor."

That guy isn't someone to be trifled with either, and he's actually trying to win me over. You can decide what to do.

After saying that, Liu Feng got up and prepared to leave.

Cao Cao suddenly shouted fiercely, "Stop right there!"

Liu Feng turned to look back, his tone sharp and confrontational: "Is there anything else, General?"

"Get back here and sit down!"

Cao Cao's face was dark red, because his skin was dark and his complexion was not usually rosy, which showed that the widow Cao was really furious.

"General, a scholar can be killed but not humiliated."

Liu Feng was furious. "I am also a general appointed by the imperial court. How dare you insult me ​​like this?"

You old scoundrel, how dare you look down on me while I'm still young!

"Sit back down!"

Cao Cao suppressed his anger and soothed him, saying, "We are uncle and nephew, and we have always gotten along well. What can't we discuss?"

Liu Feng then sat down again, waiting for Cao Cao to continue speaking.

Cao Cao was helpless, knowing that he had tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead. It seemed that this little thief would not give up unless he offered some real money.

After hesitating for a moment, Cao Cao tentatively said, "These two men are indeed my subordinates. Although they were out there causing trouble, it was also due to my poor management. I should compensate my nephew to atone for my sins."

“Nephew, your uncle is now destitute, with little money and little food.”

Cao Cao was flexible and adaptable; he even cried to Liu Feng, saying, "You must save some face for your uncle."

Liu Feng sneered inwardly and made an outrageous demand: "There is something I need to ask of you, Uncle. I wonder if you would be so kind as to grant my request?"

"What's the matter?"

Cao Cao also abandoned his pitiful act and replied seriously, "Nephew, please tell me everything."

"My nephew has subdued 300,000 Yellow Turban rebels in Yingchuan. Among them are many women, children, the elderly and weak, who cannot endure the long journey and have gone to Xuzhou."

Liu Feng stared intently at Cao Cao, watching his every move: "I humbly request that you, Uncle, cede the five counties of Yangdi, Yingyin, Yingyang, Xuxian, and Linying to my Xuzhou garrison. Is that possible?"

Just as I suspected, this little thief has really gone too far!
Cao Cao, burning with anger, replied with a half-smile, "Nephew, do you think your uncle will agree?"

Liu Feng could see that Cao Cao's anger was on the verge of exploding, so he immediately took the initiative to back down according to the original plan: "This request is indeed a bit excessive. In that case, I humbly request that you temporarily lend this place to your uncle for three years. How about that?"

Cao Cao was originally ready to break off relations, but Liu Feng unexpectedly took the initiative to concede, which put him in a dilemma.

To be honest, Cao Cao was determined to take Yingchuan and would not make any further concessions.

If he remains trapped in Yanzhou, he will be destined to be Yuan Shao's subordinate in the future.

Since we're going to become Yuan Shao's underlings sooner or later, why should we let Liu Bei benefit from this?
But if it's just a three-year loan, and only for five cities, then it's not impossible to negotiate.

After all, the most important things in these cities are population and farmland. Even if the former were to flee, the latter would be something Liu Feng couldn't move even if he had a hundred years.

“Nephew, three years is too long. Your uncle has long had plans for Yingchuan, and we really can’t afford to delay.”

Cao Cao feigned generosity and said, "But since it was you, my dear nephew, who brought this up, your uncle can't refuse to give you face. In that case, I'll lend it to you for a year."

Upon hearing Cao Cao's words, Liu Feng breathed a sigh of relief.

Despite Liu Feng's apparent confidence, if Cao Cao remained stubbornly persistent, the only outcome would be Liu Feng's retreat. Cao Cao was currently the one with nothing to lose, while Liu Feng not only had shoes on but had even changed his clothes; he was far from willing to perish together with Cao Cao.

It was Cao Cao's ambition that made him unwilling to be subordinate to Yuan Shao, which gave Liu Feng the opportunity to profit from the situation.

"Two years!"

Liu Feng explained earnestly, "Spring plowing is just around the corner, and there simply isn't enough time to relocate many people this year. If we only have one year left, we might as well relocate people right now."

“In that case, I will grant my request, my dear nephew.”

Cao Cao considered it seriously for a moment, and finally nodded slowly under Liu Feng's expectant gaze. But at the same time, he also made a request: "However, I also have a request, and I hope my nephew can understand."

Liu Feng cautiously replied, "Please speak frankly, Uncle."

Cao Cao stared intently at Liu Feng with eyes like a hawk: "I would like to ask Zisheng to hand over He Kui and Zhang Mang to me for disposal. Is this acceptable?"

Liu Feng then relaxed and calmly cupped his hands, saying, "Since Uncle has given the order, how dare I disobey?"

"good!"

Cao Cao breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad that he had managed to bring these two men back. He decided to temporarily borrow the five counties.

In fact, Cao Cao had always been worried about He Kui and Zhang Mang. When he heard Liu Feng say that the two had fallen into his hands, Cao Cao was quite upset.

The Qingzhou Army under Cao Cao was always a rather unique organization. First of all, the Qingzhou Army had long been one of the most capable units under Cao Cao, which stemmed from the Qingzhou Army's independence and combat experience.

At this time, most of Cao Cao's troops were already under the command of someone else.

Cao Cao himself was more like the overlord of various military leaders, but these leaders respected Cao Cao's military command ability.

Leaving aside the smaller shareholders, the major shareholders with historical records alone numbered 2,000 under Cao Ren, 3,000 under Cao Hong, 5,000 under Xiahou Dun, 800 under Cheng Yu, 6,000 under the Li family of the Cheng clan, and 3,000 under Yu Jin of the Jibei faction who inherited Bao Xin's legacy.

These armies are not all surnamed Cao.

Aside from the personal guards recruited by Cao Cao himself, the Qingzhou Army was truly unique to Cao Cao.

Because of their Yellow Turban origins, the Qingzhou Army had agreed upon surrendering to Cao Cao but not to the Han Dynasty, making them an elite force loyal only to Cao Cao himself.

The Qingzhou army, selected from 300,000 battle-hardened young men of the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou, is undoubtedly powerful. Their strength varies greatly, and it is only because of their willingness to exert themselves.

However, precisely because of their pure background, Cao Cao has always been extremely tolerant, trusting, and even somewhat indulgent towards them.

At the foot of Puyang, the Qingzhou army was routed by Lü Bu's iron cavalry, leaving the widow Cao Cao stranded on the battlefield. Yet, she was not punished by Cao Cao for this very reason.

Cao Cao needed the Qingzhou Army to strengthen his own base, thereby deterring other shareholders, large and small.

Compared to this, even being abandoned on the battlefield is a small matter.

This time, Cao Cao sent He Kui and Zhang Mang to Yingchuan to poach talent, which was actually very risky.

It was Cao Cao who guaranteed the safety of He Kui and Zhang Mang, which convinced them to agree.

If He Kui and Zhang Mang were truly dead, the loyalty of the Qingzhou army to Cao Cao would certainly decrease. The exact extent of the decrease would depend on Cao Cao's subsequent compensation efforts.

That's why Cao Cao was willing to wait two more years to get He Kui and Zhang Mang back.

After receiving a satisfactory reply, Cao Cao breathed a sigh of relief and said with a happy expression, "Men, prepare a banquet! Today I will host a banquet for Zisheng, and we will drink until we are drunk."

Liu Feng also relaxed. Although it was a pity about the land in Yingchuan, Xuzhou didn't lack land, but rather people.

Putting aside other factors, Pei State could at least accommodate hundreds of thousands of people, Xuzhou itself could continue to accommodate hundreds of thousands, and Runan could also accommodate hundreds of thousands at this time.

Adding these together, settling a million people would be a piece of cake; on the contrary, trying to gather that many people would be as difficult as climbing to heaven.

Therefore, at this point, land is not the key point; population is the foundation.

Save people and lose land, everyone and land will gain; save land and lose people, everyone and land will be lost.

The instructor's words were incredibly insightful when applied to the late Han Dynasty.

Moreover, Yingchuan has always been easy to attack but difficult to defend, with flat terrain and only a few rivers, none of which are impassable.

It would not be difficult to take it later, so why not give it to Cao Cao first to appease him and make him control Hebei?

“Nephew, a lot has happened in the court since you went south to Yingchuan this time.”

While waiting for the banquet to be prepared, Cao Cao could no longer contain himself and began to speak: "Han Xian's actions are not a blessing for the court."

Liu Feng didn't pretend to be stupid. He had been back for two days, and Yang Feng and Zhang Yang had come to his residence to drink heavily yesterday. Pretending not to know would be going too far and was really unnecessary.

Liu Feng did not hesitate to defend him, saying, "Han Xian is, after all, a military man from the border region, and he has rendered great service in saving the emperor. The emperor has been very tolerant of him. I think we should prioritize etiquette and not punish him rashly, lest we hurt the feelings of the emperor and the meritorious official."

"This……"

Cao Cao's head started to ache again. How could Liu Feng, so young, have so many cards in his hand?

His attempt to remove Han Xian backfired, becoming the catalyst that forced Han Xian to side with Liu Feng.

But he couldn't refuse. He tried to recruit Han Xian several times, but the other party showed no respect and even harbored great hostility towards Dong Cheng, and even hated him as a result.

How could Cao Cao possibly tolerate this?

Seeing that Liu Feng was going to protect Han Xian, Cao Cao had no choice but to reveal his true colors: "Nephew, we had agreed before that Sili Province would be managed by me, but I do not have the power of the governor of Sili Province, which has made it difficult to promote various affairs in Sili Province."

"As the saying goes, if the name is not correct, the words will not be proper. I should seek the authority of the Sili Prefecture."

Cao Cao laid his cards on the table: "What does my nephew think?"

Liu Feng pondered for a moment.

The governor of Sili Province was the same as the Commandant of the Capital Region. Cao Cao's request was actually reasonable, and it should have been given to him long ago.

Han Xian's title of Commandant of the Capital Region was merely an honorary title, meant to show favor. He had no ability to manage the entire Sili Province with his subordinates.

Whether for the good of the imperial court or for the sake of the remaining people of Sili, it would certainly be more appropriate to appoint a capable person as the Commandant of Sili.

But Liu Feng was also afraid. The Sili Commandant's sword was too sharp. If Cao Cao used it to cut him, it would be a real problem unless he turned against him directly.

Seeing that Liu Feng remained silent, Cao Cao smiled knowingly and reassured him, "Nephew, why do you have any doubts? How could our matter involve the Commandant of the Capital Region? Your uncle can guarantee here that he will never harm your people."

Liu Feng remained silent, not because he didn't completely trust Cao Cao.

When the other party is of sound mind, political guarantees can still be somewhat useful, after all, this is Cao Cao, not Sima Yi.

However, the position of Commandant of the Capital Region was too important, so even though the position should rightfully belong to him, Liu Feng was unwilling to hand it over for nothing.

They always want to exchange something for something, but they can't think of anything worth trading right now.

Just then, Cao Cao wanted to win over Liu Feng, so he complained to him: "Zisheng, you don't know, I wanted to recommend a governor of Henan but I was blocked in the court. This general is too frustrated."

Since the late Eastern Han Dynasty, many of the tacit rules have been broken.

Firstly, regarding military power, the Grand General should rightfully be in charge of all military affairs in the realm.

Let alone Yuan Shao and Liu Bei, even among Yang Feng, Han Xian, and Zhang Yang, who were truly subservient to Cao Cao and obeyed his orders?

If they can't even control the military, their political influence will decline sharply. Isn't that a given?

Moreover, Emperor Liu Xie was an adult emperor and no longer needed a Grand General to assist him in governing. Cao Cao's position as Grand General was indeed frustrating.

No wonder he was so fixated on the position of Commandant of the Capital Region; if he were to obtain it, it would inevitably lead to a bloodbath.

Even under pressure from Yuan Shao and Liu Bei, he still had to eliminate some troublemakers to establish his prestige as the Grand General.

"Oh, I've also heard about the matter of the Governor of Henan. General Xiahou is a very suitable candidate."

Liu Feng felt that appointing Xiahou Dun as the Governor of Henan was not actually a bad thing.

Xiahou Dun was actually a very good person. He was open-minded and cheerful, cared for his soldiers, and was good at communicating and mediating with the gentry. He had very high political ability.

The fact that this member of the Cao clan, whose political skills far surpassed his military prowess and who was relatively principled in his actions, was in this position was actually beneficial to Liu Feng.

After all, the emperor was always thinking about how to sow discord between Yan and Xu, so that Xu could pull chestnuts out of the fire for him.

Upon hearing that Liu Feng was inclined to support Xiahou Dun, Cao Cao's eyes lit up.

(End of this chapter)